


Heart to heart: Clan deputy edition

by fvartoxin



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Gay Characters, Of note Prozan is genetically cinnamon but with very high rufousing, Other, So something the books would maybe call "Dark ginger", transgender character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22854022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fvartoxin/pseuds/fvartoxin
Summary: That title...really just sums it up, actually.
Relationships: Prozan & Nightfrost (OCs)





	Heart to heart: Clan deputy edition

She still wasn't sure how shoving all five Clans onto the Gathering island in the middle of the day was a good idea, but she'd put her next few meals on Volestar's head if it ever came down to the question of where said idea had initially come from. Speaking of Volestar, a quick look around told her that he was engrossed in a quiet conversation with both her infamous father and her ex-wife. Right, then. She wouldn't bother them for the time being. Though, she caught the faintest strains of what sure seemed to be a genuine apology from the hulking tortoiseshell as she turned tail (she'd learned enough about the subtle cadences of his voice in the few years they'd spent living in that gorge, what with him having been holed up in her den nearly 24/7). Although that was easily something to note, she wouldn't bother pressing. Sometimes, certain things just needed to be kept between certain people. That was simply the way things were.

Prozan moved onward, passing a reasonably-sized group composed of happily chattering apprentices and younger warriors. No doubt at least one of her own children was among the crowd, but she couldn't make out distinct shapes in the multicolored mass of fur. She'd let them have their fun; she'd already spent a fair portion of the day interacting with them anyways, and the young teenagers had been too easily distracted by other prospects to pay attention to either of their mothers for longer than a few hours. The ginger queen flicked her tail to and fro as she walked, and for a moment entertained the idea of seeking out Hibiscusstar for some polite small talk. Despite the pressures of leading a Clan ravaged by human activity combined with his generally reserved nature, he wasn't a bad conversationalist provided you could get his mind off of bleaker matters for a few minutes.

Speaking of bleaker matters...despite her general feelings about Ravenspots's demotion and retirement in addition to being forced to take the tomcat's place, it was clear by now that Featherstar didn't plan to reconsider her decision. She'd fought the gray tabby leader about her choice for months, but had eventually had to bend to Featherstar's will. At least, she thought, things hadn't ended up worse. Though 'worse' was an understatement in this case; how else would anyone react to the person they'd loved for most of their life and had several children with metaphorically spitting in their face and pulling the earth from under their feet? Although Prozan would have been among the first to admit that she'd never been sure of how their relationship in general had ever came to be, she knew enough by now to tell that Ravenspots had deeply cared for RapidClan's leader and that his emotions over their former partnership wouldn't be easily quashed. She stifled a heavy sigh as she spotted the tom's distinctive mostly-white pelt. In a sea of browns and tabby patterning, his fur was even more hard to miss than usual.

He was pacing listlessly around a small cluster of other elders as he talked, gesturing in a startlingly animated manner.

She started to move towards the group, then halted. She'd said what she could, more times than she could feasibly count. He did not need her pity. Letting her words die in her throat, she once again moved on. It was a while before she intentionally stopped again, and she chose instead to be lost in her own thoughts.

"Nice weather. Also, I'm surprised this hasn't turned into a total shitshow yet." A clear, almost chime-like voice cut through the fog in her mind after what seemed like an eternity. "Too many people here, and I'm surprised no one's at each other's throats yet."

Prozan ground to a halt and looked up to meet the CrestClan deputy's cold eyes, raising a brow as she began to speak. "Hmm. Has anyone ever told you that you sound a lot like my father? Because I'd be surprised if that **wasn't** the case."

Nightfrost snorted in amusement, but his expression didn't change. In all honesty, he was generally too low-energy to bother with moving the majority of his facial muscles. "I can't say that I'm surprised, considering that, last I checked, he's still my paternal grandfather." The dark-furred tom gently inclined his head towards the shade of a nearby tree, and allowed his aunt to lead the way towards it. "And, to offer a serious answer - Dad did, back when he was alive." With that, he claimed the cooler ground as his own, sprawling out in an unintentionally seductive manner. "More than once, now that I think about it."

Not like the display mattered to either of them, seeing as A) they were related and B) they were both gay. "I never truly realized how many cats were related to me until recently," Prozan quipped, allowing herself to sit and partially relax. "Though I'll admit it's nice to have family in various places. Even if some of them are, well, less than savory people."

"Hah! Yeah, we really do breed like rabbits," he chuckled in as low a tone as he could manage, breaking off to reach down and lick a stray tuft of chest fur back into place. "Seems like I'm always discovering new cousins or aunts or uncles nowadays. To think, this all started with one cat." Nightfrost punctuated this with a loud yawn. "Wonder how far our bloodline'll reach in the end?"

"I don't know," she admitted truthfully. "Whatever the case, we won't physically be around to see it." Really, that'd more than likely be a good thing. She was going to say more on the subject, but found herself drawing an alarming blank as soon as she opened her mouth again. Perhaps it was just the heat frying her brain. Or maybe it was just the unspoken tension getting to her; DawnClan was there, after all. Whatever the case, it didn't make things any less awkward. Thankfully, Nightfrost didn't seem to mind. On another note, conversation topics were easily exhausted when one had little in common with another being besides shared heritage. "So, what exactly has been going on in your Clan lately? Besides the naming of new apprentices," she queried after a while, angling her ears towards the young Shellpaw and Crayfishpaw in turn. "I've heard your camp is right on the beach; hopefully it isn't too cold for anyone."

"Not much apart from the occasional warriors fighting over prey. And of course Hibiscusstar is stressing out over Rockstar and whatever he's up to," he admitted as he absentmindedly nibbled at a claw, shooting a glare in the general direction of the DawnClan leader as he spoke. "He's just naturally like that, from what I've witnessed so far. Also, it gets chilly at night. Not too bad, though. We basically all share a den when it gets too cold for anyone's comfort. 'Course, doesn't help any that we all live in piles of driftwood to begin with...Nothing else around but sand. And I don't know how that kind of thing used to be, either, because I only found the Clan when they started heading towards this way. Guess I could ask, but everyone's kind of-" he waved a front paw at the masses of cats sprawled out before them. "-busy," he finished.

"Ahh, I see. Duly noted." Prozan dipped her head in acknowledgement. It would have been great if she hadn't seemed to suddenly lose all of her social skills, but sometimes life was just like that. Apparently her brain could only make room for a select few tasks at a time now; doing her daily rounds of the camp and other pursuits (mainly, pointlessly debating with Featherstar) had left her with little energy for much else. She wondered if the gray tabby was deliberately pushing her harder than she'd done with Ravenspots, and promptly decided that she wouldn't put it past her half-sister. Featherstar wasn't the most pleasant of cats on a good day, as much as it made her feel a bit odd to admit. "How did you become CrestClan's deputy, anyway? I doubt anyone's ever asked you **that** before." There was a bit of an awkward feel to her words, all the same.

"Well, you're correct about that one." Nightfrost was silent for a bit, turning his attention to personal grooming. "Wasn't eventful, honestly. Just stumbled upon a bunch of desperate and half-starved cats miles away from their home, and since they'd recently lost their former leader and the new one was barely keeping things together, they roped me in. For some reason, I didn't refuse their offers. Guess all the years traveling on my own wore me down more than I thought." He merely shrugged, then cautiously lowered his voice as he added a "Between you and me, I think there's a few cats who'd be better for the job. Everyone else in CrestClan was born and raised there; I'm the odd one out."

"If it helps, my youth and a fair portion of my life in general wasn't spent in RapidClan," she divulged. "The majority of my litter was kidnapped by a dying Tribe when I wasn't even out of the nursery. I grew up in a bleak mountain range. It took me a while to find my way back here, let alone to even convince myself to _go_ back in the first place. A young child's memory of 'home' and 'family' can be fallible, and brainwashing is a powerful tool indeed. Though, that's not the point I'm trying to make here." Prozan ruffled her fur out as a light breeze blew through the clearing. "To an extent, I know where you're coming from. I've been here for several years now, yet things still feel off sometimes; almost like I'm stuck in a strange dream. The incident with the caldera only served to muddle events and cause friends of mine pain, in the end," she mused, a far-away look on her face. Then, Prozan abruptly shook herself. "Anyways, I have faith in your abilities, Nightfrost. And I have no doubt that StarClan does as well. Have confidence."

He let out a sympathetic rumble, briefly resting his tail tip on her flank. "...Yeah. Things'll work out." Or, at least that was what he hoped. Nightfrost returned to staring in Rockstar's direction. "One wonders why DawnClan was invited. I get that sometimes you guys hold meetings in the day so everyone can catch up without the pressure of having to sit and do nothing but listen to the leaders for hours on end; heard **that** one through word of mouth - but, doesn't seem smart knowing what's been going on recently. Let's hope Volestar knows what he's doing."

"If he wasn't sure of a plan, then he wouldn't execute it," she responded in turn. "While I can't say I've ever been close to any particular Clan cat from outside the obvious destinations, I'm familiar enough with Volestar to know _that_ much. We'll wait and see how things progress. In this situation, there's many against one, so if Rockstar tries anything I'd expect a literal swarm of dissenters." The ginger queen dropped to a laying position, crossing her front paws over each other as she usually did. "No doubt Volestar thought it'd be a good political move."

Nightfrost hummed in assent. "Y'know, I never did like waiting," he muttered with all of his usual irritable flair. He soon fell silent; thus, the two deputies contented themselves with overlooking the rest of the Clans in quiet and relative peace.

_Until..._

"Goosepaw! I'm sure that the elders wouldn't appreciate your putting thorns in their fur. Stand down." Since the seal-pointed apprentice then made a show of abjectly refusing to, his mother hoisted herself to her feet and was off to scold her eldest son, tail lashing and muttering under her breath.


End file.
